A Festival to Remember
by Scarbie
Summary: Louie tries to end the Mylee Festival on a high note by winning a prize for Ila.


Title: A Festival to Remember   
Author: Scarbie  
Fandom/Couple: Louie the Rune Soldier, LouiexIla  
Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Ryo Mizuno. :bows down:

"So which one do you want, Ila?" 

Ila peered at the display case intently. "Hmm… I think I want that one. Yes, I definitely want that one!" She pointed to the largest stuffed animal, a teddy bear wearing blue magician's robes.

Now, Louie wasn't going to buy this toy. He was going to win it using one of his greatest assets: his brute strength.

Louie felt badly that the first Mylee Festival that Ila attended was filled with more danger than fun. After defeating the mechanical dragon and waking up from his nap, the blue-haired adventurer-in-training worked his butt off to make sure that his friend enjoyed the rest of the event.

"Winning this bear for her would be a perfect way to end the day," Louie thought as he walked to the undercover scam artist running the "Strong Man" contest. The colors the man wore were so flamboyant. Louie didn't know those shades of yellow and purple even existed.

"Ah, you look like a strong lad!" the man said looking up at Louie. He gestured to the prizes and asked, "Which one of these are you going for?"

Louie lifted his chin and in a cocky tone said, " The big one, of course!"

The vendor laughed. "Many have talked a big game but none have delivered. But who knows? Maybe you could be the one."

Louie, tired of the flamboyant man's small talk asked, "How much, old man?"

"One silver."

Louie's jaw dropped. That was damn expensive! He was about to complain but he caught the excited expression on Ila's face. A silver wasn't too much if this made her smile. He handed over the coin.

"Thank you, now if you just wait your turn. We have to see if that bear is still there after this contestant."

To win the contest one had to use a mallet to make a high striker ring a bell. It wouldn't be as easy as it sound because the bell was elevated twelve feet from the ground. That was understandable but there were other forces at work against contestants.

The man ahead of Louie was large with a big belly but even bigger biceps. He picked up the mallet and walked to the bell with much confidence. With a surge of power he raised the mallet and slammed it down.

The bell only went halfway up.

"You gotta be kidding me!" the man yelled. "That thing should have been ringing like crazy!"

Louie and Ila looked on in disbelief. The man didn't even look like he needed the mallet to win. Ila thought that the situation was truly peculiar. She adjusted her glasses. Everything seemed to be in working order. But she could have sworn she felt a strange tingle.

"Well look," the carnival man said, "since I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you take another swing at it."

"Yeah, that's more like it." The burly wan walked up with newfound vigor and attempted again. This time he yelled, "C'mon you sunuva…"

As the man swung the mallet, Ila glanced at the street vendor and noticed that his mouth was moving slightly as if he was mumbling.

"That jerk!" she thought, "He's casting a spell that's preventing the slide from going all the way up." She didn't know the exact spell but it must have something to do with momentum. Knowing that much she might be able to dispel it.

Thanks to the carny's meddling anyone within earshot could hear the entirety of the man's colorful phrase.

"Sorry partner," the vendor said good naturedly and shook his head.

Ila watched as the dejected man walked away. She started when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Louie looked down and smiled at her. "It's a good thing you finished that chocolate banana because you're about to have your hands full."

That Louie! He wasn't even daunted by the larger man's failure.

"Remember, she wants the big one!" Louie yelled.

The carny gave a smug smirk and said, "Whatever, kid."

Louie walked over and picked up the mallet and hefted it, testing its weight. He looked back at Ila and gave her a wink. He could be so corny.

Louie making a production of things allowed her get started with her incantation before the carny could utter a syllable. She covered the movement of her mouth by twirling her long ponytail around two fingers. It was a coy gesture that made her look like a girlfriend waiting on pins and needles to see what her boyfriend would do.

She wished it were true.

"Here we go!" Louie yelled as he swung the mallet down with great force.

It took less than a second for the slide to reach the top, not giving the shyster enough time to stop mumbling and look stunned. He didn't react appropriately until the bell fell onto the ground. Louie was a bit surprised at his own strength and stared at the dent he made on the bottom of the apparatus.

For the second time that day he broke a festival attraction but he didn't feel guilty about it this time around.

Ila ran up to him and grabbed his hands. "Louie, that was amazing!"

"Thanks! Now we have to get your prize." He turned towards the carny and noticed the man was absolutely still.

Louie cleared his throat. "About that bear?"

"O-oh, yes. The bear." The carny walked as if in a trance and picked up the massive stuffed animal and handed it to Ila who immediately clutched it to her.

"He's so cute!" she exclaimed as they walked away. Louie wondered if she was going to need help carrying it.

"What're you gonna call it?" Louie asked suddenly.

Ila took a good look at the bear and then turned to Louie.

"Lou-kun. I'm going to call him Lou-kun!" She gave the toy a big hug.

Louie put his hands in his pockets and held his head down. "Dammit, Auntie Jenny. I'm never gonna live that down."

**THE END**

A/N: An author's note is definitely in order because the last line of the story can be a little confusing. "Lou-kun" is the childhood nickname given to Louie by Chief Priestess Jenny in the Japanese version of Rune Soldier. He doesn't like it when she calls him that name but she doesn't particularly care for it when he calls her Auntie Jenny. lol I wish I could have elaborated on that more in the actual story but I already reached the 1000 word limit for the 15hugs community.**  
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